Florida Council of Bromeliad Societies

Minutes

July 13, 2002

Societies Present: Mark Havlik (Boca), Tom Wolfe and Don Nores (BGTB), Eloise Beach and John Boardman (BSCF), Nat Deleon (BSSF), Vicki Chirnside (Caloosahatchee), Calandra and Jay Thurrott (FECBS), Carolyn Schoenau (JGBS), Terrie Bert and Inez Dolatowski (Sarasota), and Nancy Hall and Ed Hall (Seminole).

Others Present: Peggy Nuse (Treasurer) , Leonard Dolatowski (Newsletter), Karen and Michael Andreas (Webmasters), Dr. Howard Frank and Barbra Larson (Weevil Research) and Ron Schoenau (Extravaganza Sales).

Societies Not Represented: Broward, Florida West Coast, and Treasure Coast.

Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Chair Terrie Bert at 1:10 p.m.

Chair Requested Introduction and Brief Report from Representatives: Ed Hall reported Seminole’s upcoming Fantasy (081802); Eloise Beach reported on their recent field trip to Russell’s Bromeliads and upcoming trip to Color Zone in July, BSCF’s 65 new members since their Extravaganza (their total membership is now at 170), and their revamped meeting format and supply store. Ron Schoenau gave a short history of how the Fantasy and Extravaganza names were acquired. Don Nores reported BGTB’s association with Camp Wekiva and teaching wild flower identifications. Vicki Chirnside reported that the Calhoosahatchee B.S. Sale will be November 9 and 10, 2002 (no show this year). Dr. Frank reported that the JGBS last meeting had about 30 attendees and the presenter was Kyle Brown. Nat DeLeon reported that Carl Bower will be the BSSF Show Chairman for 2003.

Secretary’s Report: Only one correction was noted. Pat Crocker’s name was written as Pat Cochran (incorrectly) under Gulfstream Grant heading. Ed Hall moved and Vicki Chirnside seconded that the minutes be approved with that correction. All present approved.

Treasurer’s Report: Peggy Nuse distributed a copy of the Treasurer’s Report as of January 1, 2002 through July 1, 2002. FCBS balance was $2,179 and the Weevil balance was $20,497. Peggy reported that the Broward and Treasure Coast clubs had not paid their dues. She was unsure whether or not BGTB’s dues had been received. The rate is as follows: $10 per society plus $3 for each member of that society. Peggy asked that all unpaid societies please pay their dues at their earliest convenience.

Webmaster’s Report: A written report as of July 12 was distributed. Karen Andreas pointed out that the month of May set a record with 534,863 internal hits to the site. Activity has also increased since posting of the World Conference pictures to the site. The FECBS Newsletter has been posted and other societies are invited to send their Newsletters to Webmaster. More than 100 pictures from the BSCF show are posted. Michael Andreas stated that the site probably has about 8,000 pictures at this time. Ed Hall moved and Tom Wolfe seconded that the 2002 and 2003 website domain fee of $239.10 be approved for payment. Unanimously approved.

Weevil Report: Barbra Larson distributed a written Weevil report. Drs. Frank and Larson have received a grant from the USDA in the amount of $105,000 for the next 3 years and a Florida Division of Forestry grant in the amount of $7,000; in addition, the Bromeliad Society International has donated $3,000 in support of a student to work in the field on the weevil. Dr. Frank reported that the fly is a natural predator has not worked as well as they had hoped but they are continuing to explore this avenue. They are also looking for other predators on the weevil.

Extravaganza Report: Jay Thurrott gave a brief report of the upcoming plans for the 2002 Extravaganzea. Location is the Daytona Beach Resort and Convention Center; room rate is $69 (this rate is good one week before and one week after the Extravaganza); dates are September 6-7, 2002. A free parking garage is available although it has a very low clearance. Tentative plans include a Hawaiian Luau on Friday evening. The usual Sale, Auction, and Banquet will be Saturday. The banquet will cost $20 per person and a cash bar will be available during banquet and Auction proceeds will go to the FCBS and the Sales proceeds to the FECBS and the Seller. Plant sale vendors may contact Jay for a seller number. Any color tag is acceptable but writing must be on only one side of the tag. Please encourage your club members to stay at the headquarters hotel and use the Extravaganza name to receive this special rate. FCBS will handle the bulk mailing for the notices which will be sent out soon and appear on the website.

WBC 15: Hattie Lou Smith provided a written summary of the conference (she was not present at the meeting). Since the finances are not final at this point, no financial data was included. Approximately 357 attendees from 22 states and 15 different countries were registrants. There were 64 Show awards given out. There were 20 exhibits in total: 6 Commercial floor exhibits, 7 Affiliate Society floor exhibits and 7 tabletop exhibits, which included special organizations and affiliate societies. Plant and exhibit entries numbered 385. There were 85 plants entered in the commercial Section and 280 entered in the hobbyist section of the show. Nat DeLeon suggested that the exhibit plants should be labeled with proper names.

BSI Board Meeting: Tom Wolfe reported on the May BSI Board meeting. A Bromeliad Society International World Headquarters Fund was approved to be located at Selby Gardens. Possibly this location might house the membership secretary and other BSI activities that are now geographically far apart. Chet Blackburn has resigned as Editor; his last issue will be the July-August 2002. Bruce Holst (who is located at Selby) is the new Editor and he will take over with the September-October 2002 issue. Tom Wolfe commended Barbra Larson for the Weevil presentation that she gave to the BSI Board of Directors.

Encourage Societies to Promote BSI Membership: Eloise Beach pointed out that BSCF gives away a free BSI membership to non-BSI members at each monthly meeting. She suggested that other societies follow suit if they are not already doing so.

Bylaws Vote: One minor Bylaws revision in Article 4 to use the wording "current year" was moved by Vicki Chirnside and seconded by Carolyn Schoenau and was unanimously approved.

Standing Rule Revision: Standing Rule 4 was amended to read: FCBS will annually review at it’s January meeting a donation of $200 (annual) to the Bromeliad Identification Center, to be dispersed in $50 increments each quarter. The motion was made by Nat DeLeon and seconded by Mark Havlik. The motion passed unanimously.

Roster for FCBS members: Inez Dolatowski distributed a listing of members in each club and an additional listing of individuals belonging to more than one society. She requested that each representative review this listing with his or her membership person and return to her prior to August 13.

FCBS Special Award: Terrie Bert proposed that the FCBS provide an annual award to a worthy recipient. A Committee of Terrie, Tom Wolfe, Inez Dolatowski, Jay Thurrott, and Karen Andreas will review the draft proposal written by Terrie. The Committee will determine whether or not this requires a Bylaws change or an addition to the Standing Rules only. Once this process is written it will be brought back to the FCBS for approval and implementation.

Proposed Judges School in Florida: Terrie Bert reported that there is a possibility of having a judges school in Florida. A minimum of 15 attendees is required prior to consideration for conducting this school. The schools are six sessions of one day each and take about 3 years to complete. Anyone interested in attending should contact Betty Ann Prevatt immediately at bprevattpcc@aol.com.